Why several coats of paint/primer used?

[sms2022]

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[Skye]

My first thought was bondo or a filler material.

The quality of the repair and the lack of any accident report lends to a self repair or friend who did a patch job. Or, maybe it didn't involve another vehicle or no one filed a claim. I can imagine with all the vehicles, accidents and reports, CarFax and other services are not 100% accurate. IDK.

I'm aware some will use a ghost primer coat to show high and low areas while sanding, but the objective is to ultimately remove all that so you're left with one, thin layer of filler. The overall appearance ties back to the lack of quality of the underlying metal repair.

Maybe use a paint depth gauge to confirm the size of the repair area?

I'd also thoroughly review the suspension, drivetrain and rims, for any tells of greater damage.

Edit,

You do seem to be at a seasonal disadvantage, with respect to buying a vert. I haven't shopped around, but I wonder what the market would look like right after the Holidays, in January.

 

[sms2022]

My first thought was bondo or a filler material.

The quality of the repair and the lack of any accident report lends to a self repair or friend who did a patch job. Or, maybe it didn't involve another vehicle or no one filed a claim. I can imagine with all the vehicles, accidents and reports, CarFax and other services are not 100% accurate. IDK.

I'm aware some will use a ghost primer coat to show high and low areas while sanding, but the objective is to ultimately remove all that so you're left with one, thin layer of filler. The overall appearance ties back to the lack of quality of the underlying metal repair.

Maybe use a paint depth gauge to confirm the size of the repair area?

I'd also thoroughly review the suspension, drivetrain and rims, for any tells of greater damage.

Edit,

You do seem to be at a seasonal disadvantage, with respect to buying a vert. I haven't shopped around, but I wonder what the market would look like right after the Holidays, in January.

I can tell you last January (2024) when I got my car, you could have gotten a ‘22 vert premium with 10k miles for $36,600. I looked at that car but didn’t really want a vert.

 

[Garfy]

Sounds about right. That seems to be their "go to" when things go wrong too. "We just rely on the carfax" or "Well the carfax was clean".

Absolutely. I don't know if Carfax is inept or that insurance claims don't make it to them or the possibility that people fixed the car damage on their own without claiming insurance on it (which would result in a "clean Carfax report"). My son bought a used car with a clean Carfax report only to find out later that the right rear had been damaged where we found body filler around the rear wheel well that began separating from the sheet metal. To me, the best way is to inspect the car carefully looking for signs of damage not merely externally on the body but on the undercarriage and supporting structures around the cradle, etc. The external body panels are relatively easy to find by using those rubberized magnets (so you won't scratch the paint) to see if body filler was used anywhere. Of course it won't work on the front fenders and hood of current Mustangs since they're aluminum.

 

[speedfrk]

A few of things to note... First, not all dealers and shops report to carfax. It it was a minor repair they may have chosen to pay out of pocket and not claim it on their insurance. Pretty common.
Second, (I custom paint motorcycles) it's pretty common to use a filler primer- which is thick and allows you to sand minor imperfections, high/low spots, etc.
Third, as someone already mentioned, ruby red- really any tricoat is notoriously hard to match and may have taken a couple tries. Most shops will paint the entire side of a car so they don't have to deal with a mismatch between a fender and door. Put it up on a lift and see if there is any overspray evident underneath. That would indicate a bigger repair.

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